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Sunday 1 November 2015
Tuesday 20 October 2015
Charlotte Brontë's Secret Love by Jolien Janzing
A review of this new novel from The Bookseller:
We love this book
Charlotte Brontë is among the iconic names of English literature and in this wonderful novel Jolien Janzing gives readers a fascinating fictionalised glimpse into the life of the woman behind Jane Eyre.
Taking as her inspiration Charlotte and sister Emily’s time in Brussels, where they studied and eventually taught, Janzing weaves an evocative tale of Charlotte’s coming of age and emotional and romantic awakening. At the heart of it is Constantin Heger, Charlotte’s tutor and husband of the school’s headmistress Claire Heger, who Charlotte finds herself falling in love with despite the age gap and his marital status. And set against Charlotte’s story, Janzing introduces a compact parallel fictionalised account of Arcadie Claret, the teenage girl from Brussels with whom King Leopold I of Belgium conducted a 20-year affair.
Yet it is Charlotte Brontë and Janzing’s characterisation and portrayal of her internal struggle that captivates the reader. Admittedly the romance between her and Constantin remains quite veiled and although Charlotte’s feelings are evident, Constantin’s, while alluded to, are somewhat undefined, yet in a way this merely adds to the bittersweet nature of the whole situation.
What Janzing does so beautifully is give a real sense of the experiences, emotions and motivations of Charlotte in Brussels that later feed into her own work. Similarly, Emily, who we are given telling glimpses of, comes across vividly as the woman who would go on to create Wuthering Heights. What we have are really portraits of the authors as young women; we see the personalities, character traits and life experiences that will define their literature, and in the case of Charlotte, some of the pivotal moments and relationships in her life that will shape and develop her very consciousness.
Review in the Blackpool Gazette -
http://bit.ly/1P4mafP
http://www.welovethisbook.com/reviews/charlotte-brontes-secret-love
More information: http://jolienjanzingenglish.com/
*Email your review to heveliusx1@yahoo.co.uk
More information: http://jolienjanzingenglish.com/
*Email your review to heveliusx1@yahoo.co.uk
Thursday 15 October 2015
Back on the Brontë trail in Ireland
Marina Saegerman writes:
The 2015 annual
holiday was spent as usual in our beloved holiday spot: Ireland.
Of course, being an
Ireland fanatic and a Brontë fan, it is no wonder that especially the “ Irish
connection” of the Brontë story is an attraction to me.
After having visited
Banagher in 2013 (where Arthur Bell Nicholls grew up and spent the last years
of his life) and the Northern Irish homeland in 2014 (Rev. Patrick Brontë’s
roots), we were once more on the Brontë trail, this time in the Connemara.
Ever since I read the
books on the life of Arthur Bell Nicholls two years ago, I have become
fascinated by this man who played such a significant role in Charlotte Brontë’s
life. Over the years, without even realizing it, my husband and I visited the
places in Ireland related to the Brontës, in particular the places Charlotte
and Arthur visited on their honeymoon.
When reading the story
about Arthur Bell Nicholls’ life I discovered where he came from and where he
spent his life after returning to Ireland. I came across a few other places
that needed further investigation. One of them was Kill House near Clifden in
the Connemara. This is the house where Arthur’s cousin, Harriette Bell lived with
her husband and six of their seven children. Harriette was the cousin Arthur
proposed to in 1851 and who declined his proposal.
My husband and I
became intrigued with this house. We had been looking at the internet and found
a vague location near the Sky road (Clifden). We knew the area quite well and
have been driving around on the Sky road peninsula many times, but we could not
figure out where the house would be situated.
This year, armed with
a google map (very vague) and an old picture of the house, we went back to the
Sky Road peninsula to have a better look. We were driving very slowly so as to
have a good look at all the “big” houses we passed . We took all possible
byways and turned corners on very narrow roads. Driving a van on those narrow Irish
roads is not an easy thing to do, believe me! Finally, I thought I
saw a house in the far distance that looked like a house similar to the one in
the picture. We took the byway, which led us to a peninsula off the Sky road peninsula,
and arrived in a “village” (which we later found out to be Cill). We recognized
the place, we had been there many years ago to try and find a B&B with
angling facilities, where some Belgian anglers had been staying. The house that
I had seen in the distance was near that B&B, up the hill. Great was my joy
when we arrived and it matched exactly the picture that I had in my hand. The
sign next to the gate confirmed this. We had found “Kille House”! I was over
the moon.
The house is now in
private hands and cannot be visited. But just standing there at the gate and
looking at the house was enough for me! Another personal mission accomplished! Two weeks later we
were back in Northern Ireland, Co. Down, to meet up with Margaret Livingston
and Finny O’Sullivan from the Northern Irish Branch of the Brontë Society. Last
year Margaret and Finny took us on the homeland trail to trace Rev. Patrick
Brontë”s roots. Finny mentioned some other places that we might visit this year,
off the beaten track again, and certainly not on the homeland tour. So, off we
went again, on a Brontë tour with a difference!
The first stop was
Tully farm in Killead (Co. Antrim), the house where Arthur Bell Nicholls was
born. It is a two-storey farmhouse looking out across the fields to Lough Neagh
and the Sperrin mountains. The house has changed since the days that Arthur
lived here with his parents, William and Margaret Nicholls (née Bell), and his
brothers and sisters. Arthur lived here up to the age of 7 when he and his
brother Alan moved to Cuba House in Banagher to live with their uncle Dr. Alan
Bell and his family. Dr. Alan Bell raised the two boys as his own, offered them
a good education and ensured a good start in life for them, which they would
not have had if they had stayed in Killead.
The next stop on our tour was Killead Church and graveyard
on Drennans Road, where we visited the grave of Arthur Bell Nicholls’ parents
and some of his siblings. It is said that Arthur and his brother never went
back to their birthplace and never saw their parents again, although the
families did keep in touch. Margaret Nicholls née Bell was born in the nearby
village of Glenavy, and that was where we were heading to next: Glenavy Church
and graveyard. The Bell graves are not easy to find, you really must know where
to look, but luckily for us, Finny did know. The graves are very overgrown and
it is very difficult to decipher the names , but we could discover a few names
of the Bell family on the gravestones.
We had one more stop
to do on this special tour: the protestant old Church of Magherally and its graveyard,
a few miles out of Banbridge. It was here that Rev. Patrick Brontë’s parents
Hugh Brunty and Alice McClory were secretly married in 1776. The church is a
ruin nowadays, but enough is left of it to see how it would have looked like.
An additional bonus at the graveyard (not Brontë related) was the fact that the
famous Irish poet Helen Waddell (I came across her name and poems when doing
research for my next calligraphy project on
Irish poetry) was buried in this old graveyard. I knew she was from the
area but did not know she was buried in this particular graveyard.
I really enjoyed this
special tour and learned a lot about the relatives of Arthur Bell Nicholls,
facts I had read about in the biographies (see note below), but came alive when
visiting the actual area where the family had lived. Finny proved to be a real fountain
of knowledge during this tour.
Last year I thought
we had seen all the Brontë links in Ireland. I wonder, what next year will bring!
19 September 2015
For further reading, the following
books can be recommended:
“My dear boy - the life of Arthur Bell Nicholls
“(Margaret and Robert Cochrane)
“Mr Charlotte Brontë – the life of Arthur Bell
Nicholls” (Alan H. Adamson)
Tuesday 8 September 2015
Abismos de Pasión
Karol Novak writes:
Perhaps
a reader of this blog is able to help me. I am writing about the
surrealists and Emily Brontë, concentrating at this moment on Luis
Buñuel's Cumbres
Borrascosas – Abismos de Pasión - Wuthering Heights,
which appeared in 1953. The themes fascinated the director's
followers. I particularly want to know about the actress playing Cathy who had the stage name of Irasema Dillian – but any help will be welcomed.
Michael Baumber
Isobel Stirk writes:
Brontë Society members and anyone with an interest in Haworth, past and
present, will be saddened to hear of the death of Michael Baumber.
Michael
was a retired history teacher and his book General-at-sea: Robert Blake and the Seventeenth Century Revolution in Naval Warfare was written over twenty years
ago. Michael had detailed knowledge of the Old Testament and his
sermons, given as a Lay Reader in the Church of England, were always
interesting and anticipated with pleasure.
In
2009 his book - A
History of Haworth from Earliest Times- was
published. It
is a mine of information which emphasises that, although the Brontë family played a big part in making the village known throughout the
world, Haworth has a long and fascinating history.
Michael was always willing to
share his knowledge with others and I was lucky enough to have many a
conversation with him about the Bronte family and Haworth itself. He
always answered my numerous questions with patience and it was a
pleasure to take him, on quite a few occasions, to the County
Records’ Offices in Northallerton, when he wanted look at the
archives there, when he was researching for one thing or another.The
miles would speed past as Michael would wax lyrical about the special
project he was undertaking and the journeys were certainly never
boring.
A
learned man- he will be sadly missed.
His
funeral service will be held at The Church of St. Andrew, Kildwick in
Craven, at 10am on 18 September.
Tuesday 25 August 2015
Serendipity in Penzance
Maddalena De Leo writes:
At
the end of July I was again in inspiring Penzance after five years,
this time as the Italian BS representative with my member friend
Caterina Lerro and two other Italian Brontëites. We toured the town
and had an external look at Maria Branwell’s house, still closed
and without life, just to take souvenir photos on its door.
Afterwards at sunset I proudly showed my mates historic Chapel Street
with its important buildings such as St. Mary’s church, the Admiral
Benbow’s inn, the one described in the opening scene of Stevenson’s
Treasure
Island,
the Union Hotel, where it is believed the news of the battle of
Trafalgar was first announced, and the Egyptian House.
After
some time our appetite brought us to have dinner in The Tremenheere
Wetherspoon pub in High Street, just aside the white marble statue of
renown Penzance hero Humphry Davy. While there, looking around for a
free table to sit, I made a welcome discovery, something I hadn’t
found out in Summer 2010 when I had meticulously looked for any
Brontë tracks in their mother’s birthtown. I saw in front of me on
the left side of the pub a quite large gold framed panel reproducing
the famous three sisters’ images and the ‘Gun portrait’
including Branwell in its centre, followed by a short explanation
entitled ‘Penzance Literary links’; on the right below Reverend
Patrick Brontë’s photo in old age and on the left lower side the
portrait of the lady maybe thought to be Maria Branwell, the
children’s mother and the Reverend’s wife. Of course I rejoiced
for my discovery since it seemed absolutely impossible there is
nothing in Penzance to commemorate the Brontës but on looking at the
presumed Maria’s portrait I found out there is a mistake in the
panel: the woman is not Maria Branwell at all but another much older
one, presumably her own mother Anne Carne, since poor Maria died of
cancer when she was just 38. I then enthusiastically took photos of
me sitting just at the table nearby the panel.
Despite
the mistaken picture my second staying in Penzance was surprisingly
lucky and I felt fulfilled in my new search.
Monday 27 July 2015
The trials and tribulations of being a governess
I see
now more clearly than I have ever done before that a private
governess has no existence, is not considered as a living and
rational being except as connected with the wearisome duties she has
to fulfil. (Charlotte
Brontë to Emily from Stonegappe, June 1839)
IMS writes:
Stonegappe |
I enjoy
very much giving lectures about the Bronte family- I go to different
places and meet friendly, interesting people - I have met a relative
of Mary Burder, I have spoken with a descendent of the Graham family
of Norton Conyers, I have seen the names of four Brontë girls in the
log book of Cowan Bridge school and I have been shown precious
possessions with a Bronte connection. However to me, perhaps the most
important thing is, in the course of my travels, I also learn so much
myself. It is always refreshing to talk with people and hear their
thoughts on that remarkable family, discover which is their favourite
Bronte book and wherever I go, whoever I meet, it is heartening to
realise that there is great interest in those who wrote their novels
at the Parsonage in Haworth.
Last week
I was lecturing on Teesside and after one lecture a lady spoke with
me and told me she had once, years ago, visited the village of
Lothersdale - the village where Charlotte was a governess at
Stonegappe House in 1839. She said she had taken tea in the village
hall and bought a pamphlet, which she gave me, containing some
delicious recipes, the menu of a dinner party held at Stonegappe and
little snippets about the village and the house.
This
pamphlet had been compiled by a lady whose parents-in- law had lived
there for twenty years but perhaps the most interesting item in it
was a short poem, author unknown, written about Charlotte’s
experiences in the short time she was at Lothersdale.
Stonegappe
1839
(with
apologies to Henrietta, James and Thomas)
‘Sh’
this is secret between us
Don’t
tell Mama she’ll be annoyed.
But Miss
Bronte is making a fuss
And she
says that this is not for what she’s employed.
Quick
James push the mouse under her door,
Then we
will run over to the back stairs,
Don’t
you think our governess is being a bore,
After all,
I only did for a dare
.
The letter
was addressed to Ellen Nussey,
I only
intended it to be a joke,
Never
thought she would call me a hussy
Grandpa
Sidgwick looked like he would choke.
So I
carefully steamed it open
How was I
to know the ink would run!
As I held
it to the kettle in the kitchen
Cook came
in and spoiled all the fun.
Now Miss
Brontë’s in her room quietly sobbing
When Mama
comes home she will be fuming,
Oh come on
Thomas let’s go for a ride on Dobbin
I have a
feeling disaster is looming.
I was told
that the James, Henrietta and Thomas were children who lived at the
house in the twentieth century and I am sure that they would be not at all like the difficult Sidgwick
children Charlotte dealt with in the nineteenth century.
The
children are constantly with me and more riotous, perverse,
unmanageable cubs never grew. A
complaint to Mrs Sidgwick brings only
black looks upon oneself, and unjust, partial excuses to screen the
children. (Charlotte
Brontë to Emily. Stonegappe June 1839)
The Brontë Cabinet - Review
Jacob
Wandel writes:
The
Brontë Cabinet: Three Lives in Nine Objects by Deborah Lutz
336pp,
WW Norton
Keeper's collar |
Having
been fascinated by Lutz's Relics of Death in Victorian Literature and
Culture, which is about attitudes to mourning and the habit (still
prevalent today in many quarters) of collecting objects intimately
associated with a deceased loved one – strands of hair in a locket
for example – and having been a little shocked during my last visit
to the section on nineteenth century photography in Bradford's
National Media Museum, where I found myself studying the faces of
dead children in their tiny coffins surrounded by flowers, I was
particularly interested in the stance the author would take on the
Brontës in this recently published book. I was not disappointed.
I
was fascinated, not because I am acquainted with many objects
associated with the family which are in the Parsonage, the result of
many trips there during vacation time, but because of the elaborate
connections which Lutz makes. She spins off from the heavy, brass
collar which Emily Brontë's (officially her father's) mastiff Keeper
wore to give the reader a wealth of information on contemporary
attitudes to pets, bringing in references to Emily's poems and
Wuthering Heights. What kind of frisson was induced in the author,
who adored the huge creature, as she was writing about Heathcliff's
hanging of Isabella's dog? Then there is the photograph of a lock of
hair which belonged to Maria, the tragic mother of the sisters, who
died of cancer before she became grey. Lutz goes into great detail in
reminding us of the consequences. According to her, the children
“never stopped trying to find in the act of writing a means to
overcome death”. She reminds us, too, of Nelly Dean adding Edgar
Linton's hair to Heathcliff's in the locket on Cathy's neck.
Sunday 19 July 2015
A photo of all three sisters?
Halifax collector Seamus Molloy bought a ninetenth-century photograph for fifteen pounds on eBay recently - of three women. He is now suggesting that they might be the Brontë sisters. It has been identified as a 'collodion positive', a type of process which became commercially available only after 1852. Judge for yourself - read this Daily Mail article: http://dailym.ai/1KedIWv
A meeting with Sister Julia Bolton Holloway
Maddalena De Leo writes:
Fourteen years on from a memorable meeting of
the Italian Section of the Brontë Society, on 10 July in Florence, I and Professor Elisa Fierro from Lawrence, USA, met up again with Sister Julia Bolton
Holloway, a well-known medieval historian and a scholar of the English poet Elizabeth
Barrett Browning (http://www.umilta.net/vita.html).
Old Suor Julia is still the custodian of the
Protestant cemetery in Piazzale
Donatello, Florence, where the imposing tomb-sarcophagus of the
famous English poetess is located. She lived and worked for most of her
adult life in Casa Guidi and dearly loved Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre.
Sarcophagus of Elizabeth Barrett Browning |
Sister Julia also has a remote ancestral relationship with one of the
first students of the Reverend Patrick Brontë and is the author of a fine
comparative article concerning the
two works Aurora Leigh and Jane Eyre which appeared in BS Transactions 1977.
She was very talkative and kind with me, by now
the new BS representative of the Italian Section, since she remembered me well
despite the lapse of time and also showed with pride all the new books in
mediatheca ‘Fioretta Mazzei’, enthusiastically talking of ‘Brontë 200’
preparations.
It was really a very interesting new meeting!
Monday 13 July 2015
Welcome in any language
Articles and reviews for this blog are welcome in any language. Please send your contribution to heveliusx1@yahoo.co.uk
Sally Wainwright reveals all
"It’s very easy for these kind of historic dramas to slip into easy cliché, but right from the start I was determined to get past the Brontë myth which has inevitably romanticised and overshadowed the lives and careers of Emily, Charlotte and Anne," says award-winning television dramatist Sally Wainwright. Read what else she said in the Yorkshire Post - http://bit.ly/1K1fE7y
Monday 29 June 2015
Mad, bad and dangerous to know..
IMS writes:
Lady
Caroline Lamb, wife of Prime Minister, the 2nd Viscount Melbourne,
took the risk when she became acquainted with Lord Byron. The Caroline Lamb who
I know is certainly not dangerous to know but she is, as well as being a writer
and producer, artistic director with the Dangerous to Know Theatre Company based in Manchester.
Caroline Lamb |
I first met Caroline in her
native Sedbergh and during our conversation it was evident that she had a great
admiration and enthusiasm for everything Brontë. I met Caroline again
recently in the convivial surroundings of Cobbles and Clay in Haworth. Wearing a top with Emily Brontë’s famous
words emblazoned on the front, and being on the last leg of a one hundred and
thirty mile walk, Caroline certainly is not in possession, either, of a
cowardly soul! She has written a play - The
Dissolution of Percy - about the last
years of Branwell Brontë - which deals with his failed love affair and it is a
drama about double standards and gender politics. Percy was the family name of
the Earl of Northangerland who featured in the Brontë children’s Angrian
stories.
Caroline, on her walk, has
followed in the steps of Branwell, starting in Broughton in Furness where he
was for a very short time, in 1840, tutor in the Poslethwaite household. Her
walk led her to Kendal from where Branwell may have written a letter to his
friend John Brown and then on to Cowan Bridge where four of his sisters went to
school. From there it was on to Gargrave, beside the banks of the River Aire,
where Frances Mary Currer had lived at Eshton Hall and also Robert Storey who
was known as the ‘Craven Poet’. Storey was published in the Yorkshire
newspapers at the same time as Branwell Brontë was having success in that
direction. Caroline had a long trek then to Halifax and then on to Leeds before
arriving in Haworth via Thornton.
At every venue she had given
readings from the Brontës’ poetry and prose and also items from individuals who have been inspired by them-
including a piece of writing which
fires the imagination with how a second novel by Emily may have begun. The evening in Haworth ended with three
Brontë poems- the first was Life
by Charlotte which perhaps shows that the spirit can bounce back from
adversity. The second poem was Farewell
written by Anne after the death of
the well regarded curate at Haworth, William Weightman. No Brontë readings
would be complete without hearing Emily’s great poem No Coward Soul is Mine and this is how a very pleasant evening ended.
The appreciative audience
wished Caroline, who will take the part of Emily Brontë, all the very best as
the play gets nearer to its first performance.
To echo Charlotte’s words as
Caroline prepares for her final stage of her journey walking over the bleak
moors from Haworth to Sowerby Bridge-
Oft a little morning rain
foretells a pleasant day. I hope so.
Saturday 13 June 2015
June Weekend - excursion to Plymouth Grove
The journey to Manchester
was a little hot and dusty- but otherwise pleasant enough - Charlotte Bronte July 1851.
Isobel Stirk writes:
Isobel Stirk writes:
Our journey on the Brontë Society’s excursion to Manchester was certainly pleasant. It took us through
some beautiful Lancashire countryside with the brooding Pendle Hill lurking in
the background and soon our driver was skilfully negotiating the busy traffic
of Manchester and we arrived at our destination- Plymouth Grove.
Plymouth Grove |
I had visited the home of
Charlotte’s friend, Elizabeth Gaskell, a few years ago and as we disembarked,
and made our way towards the front door, I did wonder if on that previous
occasion I may have imbibed too much in the White Lion the night before as in
my memory the house had been a bright pink. All was revealed as our very
knowledgeable and charming guides gave us a tour of the house and explained how
the house had had a complete refurbishment. I was relieved to hear that, when
used as student accommodation for the university, it had indeed been painted
pink!
I feel it is not surprising
that Charlotte Brontë and Elizabeth Gaskell became good friends because
listening to our guide I realised that there are quite a few similarities
between them. Elizabeth Gaskell (Stevenson)
was only a baby when her mother died and of
course we know that Charlotte had very little recollection of her own mother.
Both were taken care of by their mothers’ sisters and both were sent away to
boarding schools run by maiden ladies. In Elizabeth’s case the Miss Byerleys in
Warwickshire, for Charlotte the Woollers at Roe Head. Elizabeth would have
empathised with Charlotte as she too had suffered the loss of loved ones in
quick succession. Her brother disappeared on a sea voyage and then within a
very short time her father died.
The Parsonage at Haworth was
home to many animals wild and domestic - the famous Keeper and Flossy, the hawk
Nero, a little black cat and two tame geese. At Plymouth Grove Mrs Gaskell was
very keen to recreate a little of the gentle town of Knutsford, where she spent her
formative years, and in Manchester she created gardens for fresh produce and
keptchickens. Plymouth Grove is very much
set out like the Parsonage at Haworth and in the rooms we saw quite a few
original items and things contemporary to the Gaskell’s time there. Just as at
the Parsonage scrapings had been taken from walls, scraps of wallpaper
discovered and then these papers were specially recreated by experts and now
line the walls.
It was interesting to hear
one or two stories about Charlotte’s time at Plymouth Grove:
I mounted into the
window-seat: gathering up my feet, I sat cross-legged, like a Turk; and, having
drawn the red moreen curtain nearly close, I was shrined in double retirement - Jane Eyre. Chapter 1.
Maybe the bashful Charlotte
took a lead from her heroine for, when on a visit to Plymouth Grove and unable
to face a caller, she took refuge behind the curtains in the drawing room and
did not reappear until they had left. In one of the rooms we were
shown a facsimile of a manuscript of Wives and Daughters.
We saw the last word Mrs Gaskell ever wrote - ‘shawl’ - for she died before the novel was finished. Here again
is another Brontë connection for the work was completed by Frederick Greenwood.
Greenwood was at one time joint editor of the Cornhill Magazine with G.H.Lewes, whom Charlotte met, and then he went
on to be sole editor for four years. He was the first editor of the evening newspaper
The Pall Mall Gazette which had
been founded by George Murray Smith, Charlotte’s publisher and friend.
The house boasts a delightful
tea room and we were offered tea or coffee and delicious cakes. We were told
that when Charlotte was in residence there she asked, one evening, to be served
only black tea as green tea made her very restless. Mrs Gaskell was in somewhat
of a dilemma as the only tea they had was a mixture of both. She did not inform
Charlotte of this but when asked next morning if she had slept well Charlotte
answered very much in the affirmative. After partaking of this
mouth- watering repast it was time to move on from this house which had been
restored so well and sensitively- with not a touch of pink in sight!
I am not familiar with
Manchester so as our coach took us back towards the city centre I did wonder if
we would go anywhere near Boundary Street West which is about a mile from
Plymouth Grove. In the District Ward of Hulme Boundary Street was formerly
known as Mount Pleasant and this is where Charlotte and Patrick stayed when he
was recovering from his cataract operation.
We had a very brief time in
the city centre and then went on to Whitworth Art Gallery. This gallery was
opened in 1889- a gallery within Whitworth Park, a delightful setting away from
the hustle and bustle of the busy city. There were many paintings to
gaze at and admire - from the Brontës' contemporary J.M. W Turner and works by
John Ruskin and Holman Hunt to the more modern portraits by Francis Bacon and
David Hockney. We passed through galleries resplendent with the photography of
Johnnie Shand Kydd and a wallpaper installation by Sarah Lucas. It was
interesting to read that Cornelia Parker had featured at the Whitworth : Brontë Society members may recall that this Turner prize nominated artist had an
exhibition at the Parsonage in 2006. It took a fascinating, detailed, look at Brontë items -
blood on Anne’s handkerchief, blots on blotting paper, locks of hair.
It was time to re-board the
coach and we were soon going from Red to White Rose country. Passing through
the little village of Cowling I glanced to the left and saw Stone Gappe House
basking in the early evening sunlight. During her brief sojourn there perhaps
the unhappy Charlotte had looked out of one of the windows longing to be over
the moors in Haworth. We were happy to be heading back there but perhaps a
little sad that this would herald the end of a wonderful day out, and we would
soon be parting from good friends. The Brontë weekend was over for another
year.
Sunday 7 June 2015
June Weekend - Simon Armitage
Poetry today has many forms and styles, not always connected with the generation of the practitioner, though Simon Armitage is often described in words and sentiments similar to those employed by Melvyn Bragg in his New Statesman review of the recently-published Paper Aeroplane: Selected Poems 1989 - 2014 - "...he has established himself as the poet of his generation". Although most of us on Saturday evening in the West Lane Baptist Centre, Haworth's best and only intimate theatre space, could have been said to be of another generation, possibly that of Sir Geoffrey Hill at the other end of some kind of poetry spectrum, Armitage charmed, entertained and moved us with enormous success. He was accessible, utterly intelligible and above all funny. He must be the poet of our generation as well.
He introduced his new memoir Walking Away, revisited poems written a couple of decades ago, spoke about the differences between walking the Pennine Way, where mists can be a menace and where you need to carry a good map, and the coastal walk from Minehead to the tip of Cornwall, where you do not get lost unless you turn sharply to the right, about the town of Marsden, where he was brought up, his father, and about inspiration. We got it. We laughed. We loved him.
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